Uruguay's 1983 coinage came during the final stretch of the military dictatorship that had seized power in June 1973 — just months after the February date commemorated on this coin. The "9 de Febrero de 1973" refers to a staged address by President Juan María Bordaberry to the armed forces, effectively the opening move of the coup process that formalized civilian-military co-governance before the outright takeover. Striking a commemorative coin honoring that date, a decade later, was an unambiguous act of institutional self-congratulation by a regime then negotiating its own exit.
The dam series issued under KM#82 references the Salto Grande hydroelectric project on the Uruguay River, completed in cooperation with Argentina in 1979.
Uruguay's 1983 coinage came during the final stretch of the military dictatorship that had seized power in June 1973 — just months after the February date commemorated on this coin. The "9 de Febrero de 1973" refers to a staged address by President Juan María Bordaberry to the armed forces, effectively the opening move of the coup process that formalized civilian-military co-governance before the outright takeover. Striking a commemorative coin honoring that date, a decade later, was an unambiguous act of institutional self-congratulation by a regime then negotiating its own exit.
The dam series issued under KM#82 references the Salto Grande hydroelectric project on the Uruguay River, completed in cooperation with Argentina in 1979.